Bamya (Okra Stew)

This okra recipe, known as Bamya or Bamia, is a beloved okra stew enjoyed throughout North Africa, the Middle East, and Turkey. My version is a vegan riff on the one I grew up eating in Egypt.

My Family’s Bamya Recipe

Here in the States, comforting, fiber-rich okra is considered soulful Southern cooking. Living in Atlanta, Georgia, I have sampled a good bit of tasty gumbo, fried okra, and even pickled okra, but growing up in Egypt, I ate plenty of okra too.

As a matter of fact, okra is a common ingredient in many countries throughout the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Iran. Bamya is just the Arabic word for Okra.

This recipe is a variation of one I grew up eating in Egypt. Some Bamya recipes call for meat, typically small pieces of beef or lamb, but I wanted to keep my okra stew vegetarian, so I simmer tomatoes and okra with onions, garlic, and jalapeno peppers for a little heat. A few simple warming spices—allspice, coriander, and a dash of sweet paprika—give this okra recipe a distinctly warm Eastern Mediterranean flair. The last-minute addition of fresh lime juice brightens this okra recipe, rounding out the flavor.

This simple okra recipe takes only 25 minutes to cook, and balances savory, tangy, and slightly spicy flavors. It’s one of the best ways to celebrate the bounty of summer produce, and, for me, it’s a taste of home.

Bamya Ingredients

You only need a handful of ingredients to make okra stew. It’s so easy to enjoy as a side or a vegan main.

• Extra virgin olive oil: A great start to anything, but especially for sauteing the aromatics and the okra. I used Private Reserve Greek EVOO.
• Onion, garlic, jalapeño pepper: Chop one onion, and mince 4 garlic cloves and 1 or 2 jalapeño peppers, depending on how spicy you like your food.
• Okra: I used 1 pound of cut frozen okra (no need to thaw), but you can use cut fresh okra or whole okra pods in this recipe.
• Kosher salt and black pepper to your liking
• Spices: Ground allspice, coriander, and sweet paprika give the recipe depth and an earthy warmth. You can add more of any of these spices to suit your tastes.
• Tomatoes. I use crushed tomatoes and 1 fresh tomato sliced which is added on top.
• Lime juice. Start with juice of 1/2 lime and add more to your taste. And even though I list the juice of 1/2 lime in the ingredients below, I often add more after tasting. A little citrus can do wonders for your okra, helping both the flavor and texture!
• Parsley for garnish, to your liking.

How to Make Bamya

• Sauté the veggies. Set a large skillet or braising dish over medium-high heat. Add some extra virgin olive oil. Once the oil begins to shimmer. Add the onions, garlic, and jalapeños, and saute for 4 to 5 minutes. Being careful not to let the garlic burn.
• Add the okra and cook another 5 to 7 minutes over medium-high heat. (If you’re using frozen okra, you do not need to thaw it in advance.) Add kosher salt, black pepper, allspice, coriander, and paprika. Stir to coat.
• Add tomatoes and water. Stir in crushed canned tomatoes (1 1/2 cups) and a 1/2 cup of water. Top with sliced tomatoes.
• Cook. Bring the okra stew to a boil, then lower the heat and cover partially with a lid. Simmer for 25 minutes or until the okra is cooked to your liking. Some folks like it super tender, so you can keep going a few minutes longer if you need to.
• Add lime juice. Don’t forget to add your citrus! Start with juice of 1/2 a lime (lemon juice will also work). Taste and add more citrus to your liking.
• Garnish with fresh parsley, if you like, and serve.

Tips for Reducing Okra Slime when Cooking

Although comforting to some, “mucilage” or that slimy, slippery mouthfeel of cooked okra is not everyone’s favorite. Here is what you can do to reduce the amount of slim in this okra recipe:

• Use smaller okra pods. If you’re buying fresh okra at the farmers market, select the smaller pods, about 3 inches in length, which will have much less slime than larger pods.
• Keep the okra pods intact. In this recipe, I use cut okra sliced into rounds (fresh or frozen will work). But you can work with the pods intact; just give them a trim, but do not slice them up.
• Sauté the okra before adding the tomatoes. This recipe calls for sauteeing the okra for 5 to 7 minutes over medium-high heat. The brief high-heat cooking will control the slime a bit.
• Cook quickly. Another benefit of keeping the meat out of this recipe is that I can cook my okra and tomatoes quickly (25 minutes) rather than a long-cooked, gooey stew.
• Add Citrus. I mentioned that I love adding lime juice to my okra stew for flavor, but another benefit is that the acid helps the texture by counteracting the slimness a bit. (I have heard of chefs pre-treating okra with lime juice or vinegar before cooking, but I have not tried that myself.

How to Serve Bamya

My favorite way to serve bamya is over a bed of Lebanese rice or with warm pita bread for a complete vegan meal.

But you can also eat this recipe as a side to meat dishes, such as lamb kabobs in summer or these Mediterranean baked lamb chops when the weather starts to cool.

Mediterranean Green Vegetable Recipes

Soups and Stews

Authentic Molokhia (Egyptian Jute Mallow Soup)

Sides and Small Plates

Horta (Greek Braised Greens with Lemon and Garlic)

Greek

Green Bean Salad with Olives and Feta

Sides and Small Plates

Dandelion Greens 

This post originally appeared on The Mediterranean Dish in 2015 and has been recently updated with new information and media for readers’ benefit. Enjoy!